


i found love where it wasn’t supposed to be, right in front of me

by Lutrosis



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Love Confessions, Protective Ben Solo, Redeemed Ben Solo, Single Parents, Single mom Rey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:14:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25751170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lutrosis/pseuds/Lutrosis
Summary: Prompt; "Ben’s the sweetheart nanny to Rey’s twin daughters. When her new boyfriend is frustrated that he’s lower on her list of priorities than her children, he dumps her. Rey texts Ben and comes home early to find her kids tucked in, and Ben, ready with ice cream."Based on a prompt from @reylo_prompts
Relationships: Cassian Andor/Jyn Erso, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 138
Collections: Reylo Prompt Fills (@reylo_prompts)





	i found love where it wasn’t supposed to be, right in front of me

**Author's Note:**

> The story title is from the song 'I Found' by Amber Run.

It had taken a long time until Rey felt comfortable enough to throw herself into the dating world again. After she had gotten pregnant because of a one-night stand in college with a guy she never remembered again, she had put all her focus on caring for her daughters and finishing her degree, so she could provide a better upbringing for them, then she had had herself.

Rose had continuously brought the topic of dating again up at girl’s nights at Maz’ Bar. She had told her that Rey’s twin daughters were old enough. After six years they were ready should Rey find someone who she wanted to bring home. Rey wasn’t easily convinced, but Rose, Kaydel, and Jannah argued, that she didn’t need to bring a possible boyfriend the night, the week or even the month they met. She could begin seeing him, without her daughters knowing and when Rey felt secure enough, she could introduce them all.

Even, when Rey said, that no one would want to date the single mother of two six-year-old girls, they told her, that she could start with simply dating them without telling her daughters, just to get comfortably back into the dating scene and when she would find someone, she deemed worthy enough, then she could worry about what they would think about her being a mom.

Rey was running out of arguments against her friends' plans. An easy way out, like pretending, that she couldn’t afford a babysitter for her daughters for all the dates the girls wanted her to go on, wasn’t possible, because they all knew, that Ben would gladly look after her daughters, without demanding any payment.

Ben was one of the best people, Rey had met him after her pregnancy. Her daughters had been a year old, and Rey had simply wanted to buy some coffee for herself – her daughters in tow. All three of them had a bad day. The two girls were teething and tired, and Rey was exhausted. It wasn’t that her friends weren’t supporting her - quite the contrary – but some weeks were harder than others.

Rey was standing in line in her favorite coffee shop, right behind a skinny redheaded man, who was constantly throwing angry glares at her, even though Kira and Daisy had gotten relatively quiet after Rey had entered the shop. When Kira had started to wail again – not at her loudest, but still at an uncomfortable volume – Rey had picked her up from her buggy to soothe her in her arms.

The redheaded man had spun around and began to loudly complain about her and her children. Rey had only gotten two hours of sleep – and the nights before not much more – and instead of talking back to him, like she usually did, she had started to cry herself.

Suddenly the door to the coffee shop had opened and a large man had swooped in, build himself up in front of the redhead. He had come down on him like a ton of bricks until the other man had quieted down and just stared at him. Meanwhile, tears had still been pouring down Rey’s face. The man had turned around to Rey, even though the other had come out of his stupor and began talking back to him.

“My name is Ben. Why don’t you three take a seat over there and I bring you your coffee? Do the two girls want some milk or something else?” he had asked her. Rey was shaking her head and had simply followed the direction, Ben had pointed her to. She had been so exhausted and sitting down had seemed like a really good idea.

Ben had spun back around to the redhead and had told him to “Just shut the fuck up,” which - quite surprisingly - had worked. Because of the commotion the owner of the coffee shop had made her way from the back of it to, where Ben had been standing. It was a rather small woman, that could be the age of his mother, with brown, shoulder-length hair framing her face.

In an English accent, she had greeted him with his name and asked what had happened and before the redheaded man could open his mouth, Ben had answered her, “Hey Jyn, that man was harassing a customer of you. I tried to intervene, but maybe you should ban him from your shop.” Jyn had taken one look at the man in a suit, whose face was matching the color of his hair, then she had nodded and told him to get out. The man had tried to argue, but then another voice had yelled from the entrance of the kitchen. “Leave now, or we will make you leave.” Huffing and complaining, the man had finally left. Jyn had turned around and rolled her eyes. “I would have thrown him out myself. I didn’t need your help, Cassian.” Cassian had been smiling and simply answered, “I know, mi querida, I just sped up the process and prevented any physical confrontation,” then he wandered back into the kitchen.

Jyn and Ben had gone to Rey, who had calmed down again, and instead now had been nervous and a little bit ashamed of causing so much chaos. Jyn had apologized to her, while Ben had asked Rey for her coffee order and after a minute brought it to her table, together with his own. He had kept her company, while they both enjoyed their drink and Ben had told Rey about his godparents, who owned the coffee shop and that he would always visit them in the afternoon to write his book. Rey in turn had told him a little bit about Kira and Daisey and the three girls had left in better spirits than they had entered the shop an hour before.

Rey remembered how afterward she had met Ben several times at the coffee shop until they had exchanged phone numbers and a year later, he had watched her daughters for the first time. Over time, he had become her go-to babysitter and the two had become close friends.

And it wasn’t as if Rey hadn’t noticed how attractive Ben was – not only had she complimented him to his face, but also talked with her friends about him when the topic was brought up – and she definitely knew that he was single, but she never really considered asking him out. She knew Ben was single, she felt comfortable with him, he was good to her daughters and fit into her life really well, but he had always been the guy, who stood up for her in the coffee shop, who had become a close friend, who looked after her daughters, nothing more.

* * *

So finally, Rey let her friends set her up with a date. The first guy she met, had been a bust. Her and Snap hadn’t been compatible in any form and both quickly recognized it during their dinner, both agreeing that there would never be anything between them. Her date with Beaumont had been much better. Rey wasn’t completely convinced of him, but enough, that she decided to try dating him, to see if there could be something between them.

And it was fun going on dates with him. The food was good, Beaumont was polite and relatively funny, and he seemed to care about her. On their third date, she finally told him about her daughters and didn’t seem put off by her being a single mom. Instead, he told her honestly, that he hadn’t expected it, but he wanted to try and wouldn’t leave because of them.

Rey had prepared herself for rejection, but was glad, when that didn’t happen and instead, accompanied him home, after shortly texting Ben, if he could stay until the morning. It wasn’t the first time she had stayed away overnight, but the other times had been planned outings with Rose or some work event, that forced her to stay overnight in a hotel.

And the night with Beaumont had been good, they quite enjoyed themselves and he had been happy, that she could stay the night and wouldn’t have to leave to go home to her kids. As the morning came, they had an early breakfast together, but Rey missed the girls and left, despite Beaumont asking her to stay longer, so they could spend more time together – preferably in bed. They had argued a little bit until Rey had put her foot down. She should have seen the signs then, but Rey decided, that they just had to find their rhythm and attune to this situation both were unfamiliar with.

Over the next weeks were several other incidents, where their plans were cut short or had to be rescheduled, because of Kira and Daisey. When she had learned that she was pregnant, Rey had vowed, that she would put her children always first, they were her top priority. She wouldn’t do anything in her power to prevent that they would feel neglected or unloved. Sometimes she doubted herself, but she had the support of her friends, and especially Ben told her, that she was a good mother to her daughters. Rey valued Ben’s opinion the most. They had talked about his childhood, so Rey knew, that Ben would tell her if he thought she was doing something wrong.

And he hadn’t discouraged her from dating either of the two men. He wasn’t excited for her, but Rey hadn’t thought much about that, but instead was simply glad, that he wasn’t thinking it was too early or the wrong time.

Rey’s conversations with Beaumont had become much more stilted, every time they went on a date. The topic of her daughters was the elephant in the room. Beaumont had increasingly been frustrated, with their canceled or changed plans. He told her, that if she didn’t want him to meet her, she should at least go out more often with him, so she could be surer about her feelings and him.

* * *

It was Friday night again, which had become their traditional date night – with others sprinkled through the rest of the week, sometimes shorter coffee dates, other times longer dates, where they visit a museum or a parc. They both felt that they were at a turning point in their relationship. Either they committed more and found a compromise, or they would soon end this.

Beaumont had invited Rey to a small, romantic Italian restaurant and the first half of their date was more enjoyable than their last week with frustrated texts, had been. When they had finished their main course and waited for dessert, Beaumont fetched an envelope out of his pocket and slid it across the table to Rey. She looked quizzingly at him, but he simply nodded at her and waited on her to open it.

Rey took the envelope into her hands – it wasn’t sealed – and took a flyer and two tickets out of it. It was a weekend getaway in a luxurious spa a few hours away from the city. Rey frowned – a whole weekend away from her daughter would be tough, but maybe they needed this. Then she looked at Beaumont and smiled. “That’s a very nice gesture of you,” she told him. “Do you have an idea, when we should go there? I think I have a free weekend at the end of the month.”

Now it was time for Beaumont to frown and shake his head. “No, it’s already scheduled. I planned it for next week because the other weekends didn’t really work for me and the tickets aren’t refundable. So, we have to go then.”

Rey sighed. Beaumont was generally a polite and nice human being, but there were some mannerisms, that definitely weren’t okay with her – one of them, was his tendency to ignore, that she had two daughters at home, who meant the world to her. They had this argument often enough, that he picked up on her tells and he made an exasperated movement with his arms. “Please Rey, don’t tell me that you can’t go, because of your daughters. You can’t put them constantly above us. Either come with me and commit to this relationship or leave. I don’t want to play second fiddle all the time,” frustrated Beaumont waited for her answer.

Rey noticed that anger was bubbling in her. They had had this discussion to often for the time they were together and now he demanded her to lower her daughters on her priority list. That was the last straw for Rey. Wrath filled her voice. “I thought you understood, what it meant, that I have two daughters. I can’t believe how self-involved you are, how little you understand me, that you think, there would be a time, where anything would be more important my two little girls. They are my world and either you want to be part of it, or you can jump in a lake, for all I care. And it is not like, I wouldn’t leave them with Ben or someone else for a whole weekend. I would do that for a relationship, I want to have, but we have a school-thing on Friday evening and plans for Sunday morning and I won’t cancel on them. That is not how I roll, and you should know that.”

With these words, she stood up and left Beaumont there. A few steps away from him, she turned around and said, “We are done, Beaumont. Go to hell.” Then she left the restaurant. Standing outside of it, she looked back to see, if Beaumont wasn’t following her. When she saw him sitting at their table, angrily eating their desserts, she was glad. She called a Lyft and then texted Ben, that she was coming home early.

Ben <3   
  
On my way home   
  
Ok 😊   
  
You're early. Everything okay?   
  
No... We ended it   
  
Oh... That sucks   
  
Yeah, but it was for the better   
  
there is just no one out there who would put up with me AND my daughters   
  
Rey ☹   
  
I know that that isn't true   
  
Your love is out there   
  
maybe right in front fo you   
  
that's nice of you to say, ben   
  
but I have yet to find it   
  


Half an hour later, Rey arrived at her small house. She couldn’t wait to see her daughters again – and Ben. She needed them. Maybe Ben would offer his shoulder for her to cry on. He was good at these things.

Quietly she entered through the door and put her shoes away. She walked into the living room and saw Ben in the kitchen, her daughters where nowhere to be seen. Ben moved towards her and hugged her wordlessly. She sank into him, her face pushed into his chest. Her arms were entangled behind Ben’s back and no space was left between the two. She felt Ben leaving a small and quick kiss on her hair when they disentangled from each other. He was sweet like that. “Kira and Daisy are asleep,” he told her and she nodded and thanked him, then she climbed up the stairs to her daughter’s bedrooms to check on them.

She knew that they were alright. She could trust Ben and he would have told her if something had happened, but for her own peace of mind, she had to see them as soon as she came home and Ben never judged her for it – in fact, he had always encouraged her.

First, she checked up on Kira, the slightly older twin. Kira tried to be the tougher one of the two girls, but was also much more empathetic for the people around her and tended to have a more restless sleep than her younger sister. When she entered her bedroom, Rey noticed, that not one, but two small persons, were in Kira’s bed. Rey smiled at the sight of her two daughters, carefully tucked into the bed. A nightlight threw an image of the stars on the night sky at the ceiling of the room and was offering a comforting light if one of the girls would awake when it was still dark. Rey knew, that she never bought such a thing and that Ben must have brought it for the girls. A warm feeling grew in her stomach. It was a miracle, that they had met each other. Ben was perfect with her two daughters.

Next to the bed was a copy of the first Percy Jackson novel and Rey presumed, that Ben must have read it to them before the had to sleep. She wondered, why Kira and Daisy had chosen that book because they had already finished it and normally, they wouldn’t want to hear it again and preferred a new story. Leaving a kiss on the foreheads of her daughters, she left the room and went back down, where Ben waited.

He had moved from the kitchen to the couch and patted beside him, to invite her to sit next to him. She moved around it and plopped down. Then she smiled as she saw, what Ben had prepared on the coffee table in front of them. Two big bowls with spoons and ice cream were waiting for them. She took one of them and ate the first portion. She moaned at the taste. “Thank you, Ben. That was exactly what I needed.” Ben blushed and a small smile formed on his face as he ate his own ice-cream. Silently they enjoyed each other company. 

“Did you read Percy Jackson to the girls?” she finally asked him. Ben’s blush deepened and he shook his head. “You know, they rarely want to listen to the same story.” Rey agreed with him and Ben continued, “We talked about the Greek myths, that were part of Percy Jackson and then demanded I made up a story of them as demigods in the Percy Jackson-Universe.” Rey dumbfounded stared at him. “You told my daughters a made-up story, where they were demigods?”

Ben nodded. Rey groaned and let herself fall against his shoulder. “Why are you so perfect? And you brought them a new nightlight. And they sleep together. Why can’t everyone be like you?” He laughed quietly. Then one arm snaked around Rey’s body to pull her against Ben into a more comfortable position. “So… your date went bad?” Ben changed the topic.

She sighed. “I told you, that we were arguing about rescheduling and canceling plans because Kira or Daisy had other appointments and tonight Beaumont had the idea, that we could go away for a weekend and I told him, that it wasn’t working because of them and he practically wanted me to choose between them. Either going away with him and continuing dating him or staying with the girls and breaking up with him.”

Rey felt Ben’s frown even though her face was leaning against his chest and she couldn’t see it. “I could have stayed with them for a weekend. Or Rose and I would have split the time between us. I understand if you don’t want to date him, but that wouldn’t have been a problem.”

Rey turned around and sat more upright to look at him, putting her empty bowl back on the table. “No, Ben, you don’t understand. Beaumont had already scheduled a weekend. It was the weekend of the school show on Friday and a soccer match on Sunday. And when I told him, that I had no time that weekend, he got angry and told me, that this relationship wouldn’t work, if I would always choose my daughters first.” Then she saw the understanding in Ben’s eyes. “Then leaving him was the right decision,” he commented.

There were sitting close to each other on the couch. Rey was sitting sideways on it, one arm on the back of it and her legs under her body, while Ben was leaning against the corner where the back and side rest connected, his legs stretching out under the coffee table.

Frustrated Rey threw her hands into the air. “I just wish, there would be someone out there, who would understand, that my girls are the first on my priority list. I want to find someone, who loves them as much as I do, who wants to be a family with all three of us and not primarily just me. Anyone who wants to be in a relationship with me would have to accept, that they would become his children, too. He would have to be patient until I am comfortable bringing him home. He shouldn’t force me to decide between him and them and definitely, he needs to accept, that I never cancel on my girls.”

Rey huffed. “Look at you, Ben. You love the two. You look after them, put your own life aside for them. You make-up bedtime stories, bring them a nightlight, come to their school-plays, and soccer-matches. You understand that they always come first. You support me, whenever I have doubts about them. You didn’t even question it, but already assumed, they were the first one on my priority list.” Rey frowned and her gaze wandered to the floor. “Actually…” Rey’s voice cut out and she was lost in her mind.

With a determined look, Rey turned back to Ben. “Actually, you are perfect.” Rey skidded closer to Ben and one hand of hers moved to his', her finger slowly wandering across his hand and forearm. “What are you doing, Rey?” Ben whispered completely transfixed on the movement of her finger on his body. Feeling confident Rey looked directly at him. “You are perfect, Ben. You love girls and they love you. You’re always there for them and they ask you for help. You understand me and are always at my side, and I really, _really_ , like you. I like cuddling with you. You’re comforting me. I like spending time with you. I miss you when you aren’t here, or I haven’t spoken with you for longer periods. You always know what I need. You bring me ice-cream. You can cook. You aren’t hovering or overprotective, but are stabilizing and supportive.” Rey took a deep breath. “And you are very beautiful.” Her finger had reached Ben’s biceps and she felt the firmness of it. His eyes were still following her movement and Rey swallowed. “Not just beautiful, but hot. I am attracted to you, Ben.”

At her words, Ben’s eyes shot to her face, his ears reddening. His eyes were darting around her face, wandering over her eyes, her smiling lips, her nose, back to her lips, and then finally settling on her eyes. Then Ben gulped. “What… What are you saying, Rey?” he asked her.

Before she answered him, Rey moved to climb on his lap, settling her legs next to his thighs, straddling him. Instinctively Ben’s hands were moving to her waist, keeping her steady, while Rey’s hands were now cradling Ben’s face to keep his gaze locked onto her eyes. Heat was pooling in Rey, as she noticed all the places, she and Ben were connected. “I am saying, that I searched for something out there, while the person I was looking for, was right here.” Rey licked her lips, which caused Ben to glance down to them. Rey smiled satisfied. She didn’t yet know if Ben was returning her feelings, but he gave many hints, that he was.

“Are you sure about this, Rey?” He asked her. Rey moved her head down to connect their foreheads. There was almost no space between them, but while their hug, when she came back from the now-forgotten date, had been comforting and calming, this embrace was exhilarating and arousing. Rey could feel Ben react to her presence on him, to her body pressed against him.

“Ben, you always felt like home. I don’t understand, why I hadn’t considered this earlier, but this feels really right. And it is definitely not a spur of the moment thing. If… If you feel the same, I want to try this.” A bit of uncertainty had slipped into Rey’s voice. “I want to build a family with you, Ben. Well, actually, I want to reinforce the relationship, we have now and transform it into something new. All the cornerstones are already there.”

Rey would always remember the sight of Ben’s eyes as he accepted, that her feelings were true. The softening of them was beautiful and Rey felt as if they were caressing her heart. “If very much feel the same,” Ben said. Then his hands tightened at her hips and tried to pull her even close. “In fact, I know that I love you, Rey Johnson. I love you very much.”

Rey’s heart was erupting, and she giggled. This feeling was perfect. Sitting on his lap and in his arms, hearing him say, that he loves her. Believing his love. Trembling her fingers stroke along Ben’s cheekbone, then their lips crashed onto each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this cute, little story. Originally this should have been the first of my stories with some smut at the end, but I decided against it because I didn't feel like it fit into the story.


End file.
